


magic in our bones (a north star in our soul)

by gilligankane



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 09:30:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10694229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gilligankane/pseuds/gilligankane
Summary: T. S. Elliot was right when he said that the world ends not with a bang, but with a whimper.That's the first thought Nicole has when she opens her eyes. There was no bang, no explosion, no flash fire. It was a simple exhale, a word dying on the tip of her tongue, a hand outstretched and then - nothing.





	magic in our bones (a north star in our soul)

**Author's Note:**

> Another tumblr prompt that went sideways. This one was: "Nicole and Waverly at the end of the world" but, like, I hope that was open to interpretation.

 

_T. S. Elliot was right when he said that the world ends not with a bang, but with a whimper._

That's the first thought Nicole has when she opens her eyes. There was no bang, no explosion, no flash fire. It was a simple exhale, a word dying on the tip of her tongue, a hand outstretched and then - nothing.

The hand at her forehead is unfamiliar and cold. She bucks away instinctually - _a man stepped out onto the road_ and _she's the wrong kind_ \- but the hand stays, following her movement.

"Nicole, it's me," Wynonna says hoarsely. "It's me."

Nicole gives, exhaling noisily. She's tired, groggy, but she pushes through it. She tries to speak but her throat feels too raw. Her mouth forms the words and no noise comes out.

"No, don't try to talk," Wynonna says. "The doctors, they said you need to rest. They didn't think you would..." Wynonna trails off.

Nicole nods her understanding. Noises from the hospital start to seep into her head: the beeps and the steady drum of her heartbeat. She scans the room. It's Purgatory's emergency department and she's officially been here too many times. She looks carefully at Wynonna.

"I'm fine," Wynonna says, like she's anything but.

Nicole looks at Wynonna's hand, suddenly feeling the weight of her wrist cuffed tightly around Nicole's wrist.

"I wasn't..." Wynonna swallows. "They weren't going to let me go with you. I didn't want." She stops and looks away, eyes dark and unfocused. "I didn't want you to wake up alone."

_Again_ , no one says.

"Once I handcuffed myself to your stretcher, they kind of didn't have a choice."

Wynonna's words don't have their usual spark. It makes Nicole more anxious than the constant beeping and the total absence of anyone else besides them.

"So here we are," Wynonna finishes.

Nicole tries to talk again but her mouth opens and nothing comes out. Wynonna stretches towards the bedside table. Nicole has to lean forward just slightly and the angle gives Wynonna the reach she needs to be able to get her fingers on Nicole's notebook and pen, piled up with all her other personal effects.

"Try this."

Nicole uses her free hand - _her right hand, thank god_ \- to steady the notebook against her leg. She bites the cap off the pen.

_Are you okay?_

Wynonna gives her a tight-lipped smile.

Nicole crosses her first question out and scribbles down a second one.

_Where did it go?_

Wynonna sighs.

_Not with a bang_ , Nicole remembers. No, it was more like Waverly's body contorted with the sickening crack. There was a wet, sucking sound. Not with a bang. It was more of a hollow laugh; The cold sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach; a warm, familiar hand wrapped around her neck.

And then Waverly was gone.

_It_ was left in her place.

"She- It," Wynonna corrects when Nicole glares at her. "It went after you. Choked you out like Ronda Rousey. I had to pull Peacemaker on it before it would let you go. And then it took Waverly's Jeep and drove off. Doc and Dolls found the Jeep out by Gus's place but no hellspawn inhabiting my sister."

_Gus_ Nicole writes hurriedly.

"Fine. She's fine. She went to her sister's place in Alberta for a bit," Wynonna says.

Nicole's eyes feel heavy. She rubs at them. She looks at the IV dripping into the line. She follows the line up to her arm and grimaces. She's exhausted- physically, emotionally, mentally. Wynonna looks the same. She picks up her pen.

_How do we save Waverly?_ she writes slowly, fearing the answer.

Wynonna sighs again and Nicole's heart sinks. "I don't know," Wynonna says quietly, the words almost lost in the _beep, beep, beep_ of the machines in the room.

Nicole's eyes flutter closed for a moment. Sleep is calling her and everything feels so heavy. She feels her cuffed-wrist lift as Wynonna leans in, pushing Nicole's hair back with one hand, pushing her back against the pillows with another.

"Sleep, for now. I'll find some dam keys and get myself unhitched from you," she promises. She strokes Nicole's face. It's oddly comforting.

"Just a few minutes," Nicole vows. "Okay?"

Wynonna nods a little. "Just sleep now, baby girl. Just rest."

Nicole falls asleep easily and she dreams of Waverly in a dress, coming down the stairs with a smile on her face.

\---

A week later she can speak and fire a gun and that's progress. Wynonna sticks close by her, almost as if she never quite took off those handcuffs. At first, Nicole is annoyed. She's a big girl and she can do things by herself. But after the first day, she realized Wynonna wasn't hovering for Nicole's sake; she was hovering for her own.

Two weeks go by and they haven't heard from the thing possessing Waverly. No one has seen it. Nicole doesn't breathe.

Three weeks in and Nicole barely sleeps. She spends her nights at the homestead, pacing Waverly's room and laying in her bed and staring at the ceiling. She tucks Wynonna into the couch every night and finishes the rest of her bottle of whisky. It's a pleasantly terrible routine. They spend their days at the sheriff's office, researching until Nicole can't read the words on the page.

"Haughtsauce, pass me the hot sauce."

Nicole looks between Wynonna's outstretched hand and the bottle of Pete's on the table. "It's closer to you than it is to me," she says slowly.

Wynonna looks up from the file she's reading, a smirk on her face. "Oh, I know. I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to say hot sauce twice in one sentence."

Nicole rolls her eyes, picks up the hot sauce, and puts it just outside of Wynonn'a reach.

"I don't even want the hot sauce, so jokes on you."

"Sure you don't," Nicole teases back.

"Oh, how quaint," a voice says behind them.

Nicole's hand goes to her gun as she spins, files and hot sauce everywhere.

It's Waverly.

_It's not Waverly._

Her brain screams _shoot_! Her heart just screams.

Wynonna has the gun, though. And she draws Peacemaker in a wide arc as she turns, leveling the gun at Waverly (it's _not_ Waverly).

It locks eyes with Nicole. "I've been gone a few weeks and you're already moving on?" It asks her. "You know," it trails off, dragging a finger through a puddle of spilled hot sauce. It licks its finger. "She tried to sleep with Champ, too. Her standards aren't all that high."

"Pardon me for sayin' so," Doc drawls, leaning against the doorway. "But that don't speak too highly of yourself, either."

It waves a hand dismissively at him. "This dreaded... human stuck inside me has exceptionally low standard. By the time I'm done with her, she'll know the Queen she could be. If she wasn't hiding behind the shadow of this alleged Chosen One," it adds, glaring at Wynonna.

"I'm the Earp heir," Wynonna says through gritted teeth.

Its eyes glad excitedly, like it had been waiting for Wynonna to take the bait. Nicole sees it in the interrogation room all the time and she knows a setup when she sees on. She reaches for Wynonna, to try and calm her down, but Wynonna is too far away.

"Should you be, though?" it asks. "I seem to be able to recall a feeling, in the very dark center of this tiny human, that says otherwise."

Nicole frowns. "What is she talking about, Wynonna."

Doc pushes off the doorframe. "Wynonna, do not listen to this being. It is merely trying to get a rise out of you."

"Poor old August," it continues. "All he wanted was for sinners to take responsibility for their wrongdoings. And you, Wynonna. You had a lot of wrongdoings."

"Wynonna, don't listen," Doc repeats, his voice low and urgent.

"What was it that your sister said, again? She should have been the heir? _She_ was the one who deserved it. _She_ devoted her life to it." It shakes its head. "And what did you do? You killed your Daddy and you left Waverly in this mess."

Wynonna cocks Peacemaker and Nicole decides she's done standing still. She steps in front of Wynonna, feels Peacemaker against her chest. She swallows the nervousness and the panic and looks Wynonna straight in the eye.

"Listen," she says quietly. "I don't know what's going on. But Waverly trusted you as the heir." Nicole swallows. "She _does_ trust you. She admires you. She thinks you hung the moon, Wynonna. You know that. You've always known that."

"Officer Haught has a point," Doc chimes in.

"Do not give into this," Nicole says, lifting a hand slowly and bringing it down on the barrel of Peacemaker. She carefully angles the gun down and steps closer, pressing it to Wynonna's side. "We need to figure out how to get Waverly back. Not debate with this thing."

"You really are smart," it says. "What a pity."

Nicole turns, her eyes hard and narrow.

"But if you just ask, I'll tell you what it will take to expel me from your precious Waverly." It doesn't wait for anyone to ask. "Give me Peacemaker and I give you the girl back. It's as simple as that."

"Go to Hell," Wynonna growls.

It shrugs. "Where do you think I've been for the last few centuries?" It backs up slowly towards the door, its hips swaying in a way that Nicole doesn't recognize. "Peacemaker. By noon, two days from now. Or I'll have to trade in my current vehicle for something... else." It curls its fingers in a wave and disappears out the door.

\---

"Just give it Peacemaker."

Wynonna groans and bangs her forehead against the table.

Nicole ignores her. "Give it Peacemaker and we get Waverly back."

"Officer Haught -" Doc starts.

"No. It's simple: Give. It. Peacemaker."

"It's not that simple," Wynonna says, her words muffled by the tabletop. She lifts her head. "It's not that simple. If we lose Peacemaker, that's it. I'm dead. You're dead. Doc and Dolls and Nedley and this whole damn town. And Waverly," she adds.

Nicole slams her fist down, a pain instantly blossoming in her knuckles. "Give it Peacemaker," she says again.

"I can't just give it up," Wynonna says. Her hand goes to her side, touching the gun.

"But you already did, once. For _me_. Because of _Waverly_." Nicole can feel the hot burn of tears in her eyes. "We can do it again. We can get Waverly back."

Wynonna reaches out and closes her hand over Nicole's clenched fist, squeezing just enough that Nicole feels it in every bone. "Listen, baby girl -"

Nicole pulls her hand away quickly, shoving it into her pocket. "No," she says. "That's not me. That's _Waverly_. You can't- you can't just replace her!"

Wynonna recoils. "That's not..." She pushes out of her seat and shakes her head. "I want her back, just as much as you do."

Nicole scoffs. "Well you're doing a crap job of showing it." She stands up, her chair falling back. "I'm going for a walk."

Wynonna sighs. "Okay, I'll -"

Nicole shakes her head. "I don't need you to come with me." She pulls her department-issue jacket on and holsters her gun. "Figure it out, Wynonna."

_Or I will_ , she thinks to herself.

\---

The knocking at her front door wakes her from a nightmare. They have one more day to get Peacemaker to that thing. It's all she's been able to think about. Her nightmare started as a dream, a redo. She was back at the beginning, back getting out of her squad car as Waverly crouches down over a black stain in the snow.

She's sweating, despite the air conditioning she put on blast when she came back to her apartment. She pulls at her damp t-shirt, loosening the collar.

The knock comes again, loud and urgent. She stumbles to the door and she's not sure why she doesn't grab her gun, she just pulls the door open, expecting Wynonna.

Waverly - _it's not Waverly_ \- lifts a limp hand and gives her a tired smile. "I didn't know if you'd be here or at the homestead," it says in a voice that sounds so much like Waverly, Nicole is sure she's still sleeping.

"What?" She asks dumbly.

It gives Nicole a smile that Nicole knows. It's a Waverly-smile, wide and bright. "You've been staying at the homestead."

"How did you -"

It shrugs. "I pick up things," it says. "Almost like a bad radio signal."

Nicole squints, rubbing at her eye. "Wait, what?"

It steps closer, over the threshold into Nicole's apartment, and reaches slowly for Nicole's waist. "It's me," it whispers.

Not it.

_Waverly_.

"Waves?" Nicole asks, her eyes clearing. "Like, really?"

"Really," Waverly breathes out.

Nicole steps back reflexively, every alarm in her head going off. "No. It can't be. You're... not you."

Waverly smiles sweetly. "I'm me. Not quite a unicorn, but I like to think I'm okay," she teases.

"Waverly," Nicole says breathlessly. Her hands itch to reach forward and pull Waverly in; to hug her tight and never let her go.

"Do I need to keep proving it to you?"

The sirens in her head ring louder and Nicole gives into that instinct. "The first time you kissed me -""

"In Nedley's office."

"In Nedley's office," Nicole repeats. "You said there was something you've always wanted to do. What was it?"

Waverly bites her bottom lip. "Which one? The goeduck, or the plane-jumping, or the swimming?"

Nicole's laugh feels more like a sob as she reaches for Waverly and pulls her in. Waverly's arms wrap tightly around her waist and Nicole rests her chin on the top of Waverly's head. She breathes in deeply and holds it in, trying to soak up this moment.

"It was so scary," Waverly whispers.

Nicole presses a kiss to the crown of Waverly's forehead. Waverly squeezes tighter.

"You're back," Nicole murmurs, her head spinning. She pushes gently at Waverly's shoulders. "God, I missed you."

Waverly pushes up onto her toes, her mouth cold and chapped when she kisses Nicole. There's something off about it, something unfamiliar, but Nicole reasons with herself. _She's spent nearly a month captive to an all-powerful evil. She's bound to have chapped lips._

Waverly presses hard against Nicole and they stumble back towards the couch. The back of Nicole's knees hit the cushion and she drops, Waverly settling on top of her. A hand slides around Nicole's neck, up the back of her head. She can feel fingernails pressing slightly, angling her head back. Waverly's lips drift down, across the column of her neck.

"How- how did you get free?" Nicole asks, her voice breaking as Waverly sucks at her collarbone.

"I'm out on good behavior," Waverly murmurs. She snorts a little. "It doesn't matter right now. _This_ matters. You matter." She leans back up to kiss Nicole. Her grip on Nicole'a neck tightens slightly.

The sirens in her head are full-blown, ringing so loud her ears hurt. Waverly doesn't talk like this. Waverly doesn't kiss like this. Waverly doesn't touch like this. Nicole tries to push at Waverly's shoulders but the fingernails against her scalp press deeper. She whimpers softly.

"Waves," she tries.

"Shut up."

Nicole pushes harder. "Waverly."

Waverly - not Waverly - leans back, still straddling her. "Oh no," it says in a flat voice. "I suppose you've found me out." The voice gets deeper. Its eyes flash red before fading into black. "Well then. This is the part where you give me Peacemaker and I let your little girlfriend go."

"I don't have Peacemaker," Nicole says, her teeth locked tightly. Its fingernails dig deeper into her scalp. "You should know that."

"Oh, I do. But I also know you're going to get it for me." It uses its free hand to twirl a strand of Nicole's hair around its finger. "Do you want to know how I know that?" It leans in, its breath hot against Nicole's ear. "Because if you don't, I'm taking this body on the road."

"You can't leave the Ghost River Triangle," Nicole hisses. She's not sure if it's true, but she hopes she sounds like she is.

"You're right," it says, leaning back. It trails a finger down Nicole's face, down her cheek to her chin. "But there's plenty of trouble I can get into within that perimeter. Champ Hardy still lives in town, doesn't he?"

Nicole's whole body stiffens. She grips its waist tightly and tries to stand and turn but it leans into her and keeps her pinned to the couch.

"Don't be rash, dear. Be smart."

It slides off her lap almost bonelessly. Nicole stands quickly, reaching for a gun she's not wearing. It clicks its tongue at her, smirking.

"Now, Officer. Be a good girl and run and tell Wynonna what I said. And I'll see you tomorrow." It blows her a kiss. "Don't be late." It slinks back out the door and leaves Nicole standing in a pair of sleep shorts and a cold t-shirt.

_Run and tell Wynonna._

She does.

\---

Nicole taps lightly on the front door to the homestead, her hand in her free hand. She took her hair out earlier, when the braid felt like it was starting to tug on her brain.

Wynonna pulls the door open, Peacemaker aimed at Nicole's heart.

"Oh," she says. "Well hey, stranger."

"Wynonna, I-"

Wynonna waves Peacemaker in the air. "Feelings. I get it. Just come in here. It's freezing out there."

Nicole ducks her head and follows Wynonna inside. She leaves her hat by the door and her boots near the living room, habit by now. She knows Waverly would pitch a fit and tell her boots belong by the door but she figures she wouldn't mind being yelled at for that when they get Waverly back.

_Waverly_.

"It came to my apartment," she says.

Wynonna whips around. "Redhead say what?"

"It looked so much like Waverly."

"It _is_ Waverly."

Nicole shakes her head. "No, it's not- There are little things. Like the way Waverly walks. And they way she tips her head. And- and last night, it showed up and it acted like Waverly. It smiled like Waverly. It..." Nicole swallows heavily. "It kissed like Waverly."

Wynonna makes a face. "You kissed it?"

Nicole rolls her eyes. "Yes, because that was the important part. Listen, it told me that if we don't give it Peacemaker, it's going to-"

"Bad things," Wynonna interrupts. "Yeah. Come on. Doc wants to show us something."

Nicole follows Wynonna into the living room. The cork board they set up takes up a whole wall. _Waverly would be impressed_ , Nicole thinks. Doc is leaning against the opposite wall, chewing on a toothpick. He nods at Nicole and flicks the toothpick into a trashcan by the corner.

"I may have identified what we are dealing with," he says. He points to the center of the board.

Nicole squints are she tries to Doc's sideways scrawl. "Does that say... A Garrity?" She turns. "What the hell is a Garrity?"

"A Garrity is an ancient being that's been known to inhabit the bodies of other people to move throughout the world," Doc explains. "It seems that it was inhabiting part of that reptile-like monstrosity. And when Waverly touched that goo, she became a vehicle for it."

Nicole is quiet for a moment, thinking it over. "So how do we get it out of her? Because the only reason, you said, it came out of the snake thing was because it crosses through the gate. Like, a part of it got cut off. And I'm not up for cutting any parts of Waverly off."

Wynonna raises a hand. "I second that."

Doc frowns, wiping a hand across his face. "That, we have not yet discovered."

Nicole frowns, moving closer to the board.

Garrity. Garrity. A _Garrity_.

"Wait," she murmurs.

Wynonna looks at her. "Wait what?"

"Wait," Nicole repeats. "I've seen this. I've seen Garrity before."

"Well Tommy Garrity lives down in town," Wynonna says.

Nicole glares at her. "No." She stalks through the house and up the stairs. She can hear Wynonna running after her. Nicole pushes into Waverly's room, zeroing in on a stack of boxes they brought to the homestead from the Black Badge office. She tugs the top off of one and digs through it. She opens another one and yanks out stacks of file folders. In the third box, she finds the file she's looking for. "Here!" she shouts. "A Garrity," she reads. "Thought to have originated in Ireland in the early Middle Ages."

"Let me guess. You can defeat it with a bowl of Lucky Charms?" Wynonna asks, sitting on Waverly's bed.

Nicole ignores her. She scans the page and flips through the ones behind it. "Reported sightings... Africa, Brazil... Anecdotes," she mumbles. She curses under her breath. "Of Waverly was here, she would know."

Wynonna sighs and takes the file from Nicole. "Okay, well, look. It says here someone beat the shit out of it. And that person is now dead and lived in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico," she finishes. She groans. "Dammit, Waves."

Nicole drops next to Wynonna on the bed and sighs. "We just have to think like Waverly."

Wynonna snorts. "Then we're all screwed." She flops backward.

Nicole picks up the file. "We'll just have to keep looking." She glances quickly at Wynonna and looks away. "I'm not giving up on her."

Wynonna doesn't look at her, staring at the ceiling. But Nicole feels a hand grab at her wrist and then cold finger lacing with her own. Wynonna squeezes and her voice is quiet when she says, "Me either."

\---

"So, this is it?"

"This is it."

Wynonna looks at Nicole out of the corner of her eye. "You know I could have gone my whole life without reenacting 'A Day at the OK Corral', right?"

Nicole adjusts the brim of her hat to block the midday sun. "Consider it fulfilling destiny." She scans the empty street.

"What, pray tell, is the plan here?" Doc asks, his hand resting heavily on his holster.

"The plan is we have no plan," Wynonna says confidently.

Doc sighs heavily. "Perfect."

"I'm thinking!" Wynonna defends. She turns to Nicole. "What're your thoughts?"

Nicole shrugs a shoulder. "We get Waverly out alive?"

Wynonna looks at Doc. "That work for you?"

Doc sighs again. "Fine, then. Don't tell me. But when you expect me to shoot something, you just let me know."

Wynonna winks at him. A figure steps out onto the street ahead of them, from behind Wynonna's truck. Nicole's hand goes into her pocket and Wynonna's goes to her side.

"And here I was, thinking you wouldn't show," it says.

Wynonna checks her wrist even though she's not wearing a watch. "You're the one whose late."

It waves a hand at Wynonna. "Do you have what I want?"

Wynonna lifts Peacemaker and twirls it around one finger. "This ol' thing?"

It's eyes flash. "You give me that gun and I'll kindly take a vacation outside of this hellhole."

Nicole and Wynonna wander a few steps forward. It stands its ground, looking bored. Nicole clenches her hand in a fist, her fingernails cutting into her palm.

"How does that work, again?" Wynonna asks. "We give up the gun and you... What? Wiggle out of my sister's body?"

It shrugs. "Something like that."

"Don't you need another body, or a cockroach or something?" Wynonna continues. "Because I don't just see a body hanging around."

Its eyes flash again, angry now. "Just give me the gun," it says, its voice low.

"You're right, Wynonna. Without a body, how do we even make a switch?" Nicole asks.

It moves closer, pulling Waverly's shoulders up. It strikes a nerve in Nicole; she's seen Waverly stomp angrily though the Black Badge office before in the same way. It's so perfectly Waverly that Nicole hesitates, just for a moment, and her knee buckles a little. She tips sideways into Wynonna'a truck and steadies herself on the bed of the truck.

"Hold steady, Haughtpants," Wynonna says out of the corner of her mouth.

Nicole nods sharply. "M'good."

"Give me the gun," it growls. It reaches for Wynonna's hand and misses when Wynonna pulls her hand away. "I'll kill her," it threatens.

Wynonna shrugs as she looks at Nicole. "Now seems as good as time as a any," she says casually as she grasps the tarp in the back of her truck. Nicole watches her wrap a tight hand around an ankle bone and pull effortlessly. She thinks, for just a moment, that Wynonna has a freakish amount of strength. It took nearly all of Nicole's energy to dig up the body of Jay Novak - God rest his soul, Nicole thinks - and they're running on just about the same amount of sleep. For Wynonna to be able to drag his heavy, fleshy body out of the back of her truck in one pull, she must be chugging protein shakes in between bottle of whisky.

It jumps back a foot and Nicole has to lunge that much further to get a hold of it, hugging it tightly against her chest.

"Now would be a good time to aim that gun you talk so highly about," Wynonna shouts at Doc. To his credit, he's already got both drawn.

"Who am I aiming at, if I may ask?"

"The dead guy," Wynonna fires back, taking Waverly's body out of Nicole's arms. She holds it steady as it writhes back and forth, trying to break free. Wynonna locks her arms and grits her teeth. "Go, Haught potato!"

Nicole pulls a rolled-up piece of paper out of her pocket, quickly unfurling it. " _Regna Regna terrae, cantata Deo, psallite Cernunnos_ ," she starts.

It twitches in Wynonna's grip. Nicole pauses. Wynonna looks up. "Don't stop," she growls.

" _Regna terrae, cantata Dea psallite Aradia. caeli Deus, Deus terrae, Humiliter majestati gloriae tuae supplicamus Ut ab omni infernalium spirituum potestate, Laqueo, and deceptione nequitia, Omnis fallaciae, libera nos, dominates._ " She pauses to take a breath.

Its twists violently now, baring its teeth and bucking. Nicole can see its eyes, red and angry. It locks in on Nicole. "You think you can do this?" it asks. "You're worthless. You're nothing. She'll never love you. She'll never -"

Wynonna twists her own leg and presses the back of her knee into its leg. "Keep going," she demands.

Nicole takes a deep breath. " _Exorcizamus you omnis immundus spiritus Omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio, Infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, Omnis and congregatio secta diabolica_." She inhales again. " _Ab insidiis diaboli, libera nos, dominates, Ut coven tuam secura tibi libertate servire facias, Te rogamus, audi nos! Ut inimicos sanctae circulae humiliare digneris, Te rogamus, audi nos_!"

"You can't defeat me," it growls, its voice even more contorted. Smoke seeps from it and Wynonna coughs through it. "I'll find the next body and you'll never get rid of me!"

" _Terribilis Deus Sanctuario suo, Cernunnos ipse truderit virtutem plebi Suae, Aradia ipse fortitudinem plebi Suae_ ," Nicole continues. She takes a deep breath, shouting the ending. " _Benedictus Deus, Gloria Patri, Benedictus Dea, Matri gloria!_ "

It shrieks and curls in on itself, sliding out of Waverly's body as Waverly drops to the ground. Wynonna slumps down beside her, pulling her back and towards the truck. They watch midnight black goo slide across the street and in through Novak's mouth. Wynonna keeps sliding back, pulling Waverly with her. Nicole reaches downs and grabs under Waverly'a arms, lifting her into her arms.

Jay Novak's body stands up stiffly, limbs cracking. It twists its neck side to side and gives them a crooked smile. "You cannot defeat me," it croaks.

Doc fires twice. The shots ricochet past Nicole's ear and it rings. She lifts Waverly higher and pushes her into the cab of Wynonna'a truck as Doc fires another shot, this one square between Novak's eyes. Nicole watches it stagger backward and fall to the ground. The goo oozes out of Novak and pools on the ground. Nicole grabs the shovel and bucket in the back of the truck and tosses the bucket to Wynonna, using the shovel to scoop as much goo and dirt as she can out of the ground. It bubbles inside the bucket but after three more shovelfuls, Wynonna slams the lid on the bucket.

"Gotcha, Pikachu," she pants

Nicole rolls her eyes. She climbs into the cab while Wynonna stows the bucket in the lock box in the bed of the truck. Waverly is slumped against the side of the closed door, panting softly with her eyes closed. Nicole takes a minute to take her in. She can finally breathe. There's a piece in her chest that finally loosens. She exhales noisily and Waverly's eyes flutter.

"Your Latin is for shit," Waverly rasps. Her lips twitch in something like a smile.

Nicole laughs until there are tears in her eyes. "You teach me Latin and I'll teach you radio codes. Deal?"

Waverly barely nods. "Okay. Just get me home. I need to shower."

Wynonna opens the door and climbs in next to Waverly. She grips her hand tightly. "Welcome back, baby girl."

Doc gets in behind the wheel and Nicole slides until Waverly is safe between her and Wynonna, already falling asleep.

Wynonna claps Doc on the shoulder. "Bring us home."

\---

"Exorcism is officially crossed off my bucket list," Waverly declares, sitting down and pushing into Nicole's side. She nudges Nicole's feet. "Feet off the coffee table. Honestly, it's like living with frat boys."

Nicole glances over at Wynonna sitting on Waverly's other side. They doesn't mention how it looked before hey got Waverly home; how they scrambled during the full 24-hour nap Waverly took to make it look less like a makeshift bar and more like the homestead Waverly had left; how they threw out hundreds of soggy paper plates and crushed beer cans and at least twenty whisky bottles. Instead, they smile.

"Well, I do appreciate a fine ass. And Haught-and-heavy appreciates mine," Wynonna says. "So that's a pretty fair comparison."

"Say what now?" Waverly smiles. "That's my girlfriend you're talking about."

"That's my ass she appreciates," Wynonna fires back. "What did you call it? Top shelf?"

Nicole takes a long pull from her bottle of beer and shrugs. "It runs in the family."

Waverly grins widely and stretches out, draping her legs over Nicole's. "So did you miss me?" She sighs. "I've got to tell you. Being a backseat passenger to your own life is _exhausting_."

Nicole doesn't answer. She just pulls Waverly closer and rests her chin on top of Waverly's head. She sighs heavily. Wynonna reaches out and grabs Waverly's hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Yeah," Waverly breathes out. "I missed you guys too."

"Can we take the week off?" Wynonna asks. "Like, do I need to put in a formal request, or..."

Nicole raises her beer. "I second that."

"Officially third-ed," Waverly chimes in. "We can just sit here, watch crappy movies, and enjoy each other's company!"

Wynonna frowns slowly. She's quiet for a minute. "On second thought." She pushes off the couch. "I'm gonna go find Doc. I'll let you two have your Vagina Monologues, or hold hands, or whatever it is you do together." She winks to take the sting out of the words. She stops in front of Nicole. "Take care of her, Haught Pocket."

"I'm right here," Waverly points out.

Wynonna looks at her, then back to Nicole. "Goodnight, baby girl," she says quietly.

"Goodnight," they both reply.

They hear the door slam behind Wynonna. Waverly turns and pulls her feet under her. "So you and Wynonna," she starts.

"Baby, it was the end of the world," Nicole says.

Waverly tips her head to one side and smiles softly. "She's your 'end-of-the-world-buddy'."

Nicole shrugs. "You weren't exactly available. She was the second-best option."

Waverly moves back into Nicole's side and leans her head against Nicole's arm. "I'm glad you had each other," she murmurs.

"I'm glad we got you back," Nicole counters.

"Exorcism," Waverly says with a snort. "Honestly."

Nicole kisses the top of Waverly's head and lets Waverly lecture her on the issues with exorcism. She falls asleep and dreams of Waverly in a wedding dress, coming down the aisle. 


End file.
